Check out one of my audio poems in www.thismighthelp.ca ! For National Poetry Month enjoy these free short audio poems on the theme of resilience.
There are poems by former Calgary poet laureates and by 35 other Calgary poets from the age 10 to seniors. There are experienced poets and people trying the form for the first time. There are high school writers, university writers, and folks with a raft of published books. There are raps, rants, love letters, howls of joy!
Take a break, put in some ear buds, walk outside and take a listen. Enjoy!!!
We’re all looking for a little more breathing space and something to hold on to during these troubled times. Living in a House on Fire asks how we live amidst the nameless despair that is constantly smouldering in the background of our lives. At times our despair rages like a forest fire as we grapple with the knowledge that we’re in the midst of mass extinction, leading to deep sadness, depression and anxiety. The stories, essays and poems in Living in a House on Fire give a voice to these worries, shine a light on the darkness humanity is facing, and offer a roadmap to a different kind of future.
We’re all looking for a little more breathing space and something to hold on to during these troubled times. Living in a House on Fire asks how we live amidst the nameless despair that is constantly smouldering in the background of our lives. At times our despair rages like a forest fire as we grapple with the knowledge that we’re in the midst of mass extinction, leading to deep sadness, depression and anxiety. The stories, essays and poems in Living in a House on Fire give a voice to these worries, shine a light on the darkness humanity is facing, and offer a roadmap to a different kind of future.
Cover Image: “The Dollhouse Fire #7” by Heather Benning
Table of Contents
Rocco de Giacomo—O My People! …Their Oppressors are Children and Women Rule Over Them Emi Benn—Shells Zoe Dickinson—portents Neil Besner—Fishing with Tardelli Sandra Murdock—Two Poems Kim Martins—45 Ways to Tell You About the Importance of Figs Sheri Benning—Say It Now Dennis McFadden—Resurrecting Midnight Susan Braley—The Egtved Girl
Jonathan Ball—Capitalism Jules Stevenson—life is a story of withering Chétana Jessica Torrens—Yoked and Unyoked in Algonquin Park Mark Anthony Jarman—The Crooked Grocer Keagan Hawthorne—Two Poems
Living in a House on Fire Sheri Benning— Living in a House on Fire Zilla Jones—The First Day Randy Lundy—Two Poems Josiah Neufeld— The Whale and the Worm Steve Denehan—Ventilator Saheli Khastagir—Spring Arrived During Quarantine Barbara Black—When the Cicadas Sing Sarah Ens—With Feathers Stephen T Berg—Earth in a Bottle Jaeyun Yoo—Two Poems
E B Siu—The Last Fisherman Özten Shebagegit—Win-nipi Ojo Taiye—2015 Paris Agreement Katie Welch—Saint Watching Over House About to Burn
Amber O’Reilly—this planet was a rock before it was my house Amanda Merpaw—Gibraltar Diary Steve Locke—Moistly Lauren Carter—Zombies Jenny Ferguson—The Body That Calls, or White-Coded in the News Cycle paulo da costa—The Day Nothing Happened Jess Woolford—forest fringe Taidgh Lynch— Topsy the Elephant, January 1903 Lorri Neilson Glenn—The Water at Dusk Jo Jefferson—Armour Annahid Dashtgard—Silver Birch Rebekah Rempel—The Little Mermaid, 21st Century Tim Fab-Eme—In Memoriam of Everything We’ve Lost Claire Holman Thompson—The Blue Water Jan Zwicky—Three Poems James Rowland—The Turbine at the End of the World Makaila Wenezenki—to my nephew
Contributors
NON-FICTION
Neil Besner
paulo da costa
Annahid Dashtgard
Sarah Ens
Kim Martins
Amanda Merpaw
Lorri Neilsen Glenn
Mark Anthony Jarman
FICTION
Jonathan Ball
Emi Benn
Barbara Black
Lauren Carter
Claire Holman Thompson
Zilla Jones
Dennis McFadden
Josiah Neufeld
James Rowland
E B Siu
Katie Welch
POETRY
Sheri Benning
Stephen T Berg
Susan Braley
Steve Denehan
Zoe Dickinson
Timothy Fab-Eme
Jenny Ferguson
Rocco de Giacomo
Keagan Hawthorne
Jo Jefferson
Saheli Khastagir
Steve Locke
Randy Lundy
Taigh Lynch
Sandra Murdock
Amber O’Reilly
Özten Shebagegit
Rebekah Rempel
Jules Stevenson
Ojo Taiye
Chetana Jessica Torrens
Makaila Wenezenki
Jess Woolford
Jaeyun Yoo
Jan Zwicky
O meu texto, As Velas de Novembro, foi incluído na Antologia: Avós: Raízes e Nós, uma obra Comemorativa do Dia dos Avós e publicada em Julho de 2020. A antologia foi selecionada pela Aida Baptista, Ilda Januário e Manuela Marujo
Excerto
“…
Encontrávamo-nos em Novembro, o mês mais triste, decorado de nuvens cinzentas a lavar o mármore dos finados. As mil e uma velas enviavam as suas tranças de fumo para o além, e somente as flores iluminavam a terra, apesar das comovidas preces dos crentes a querer apaziguar a dor. Não obstante os cravos e os crisântemos, o céu e a terra permaneciam encharcados de sombras.
Sob o teu sorriso sépia jaziam as datas do nosso desencontro: 3 de abril de 1915 – 11 de maio de 1958. Eu, mais terrestre que a alva e altiva cruz que te guardava a eternidade, tentava imaginar-te em movimento: os teus braços a enlaçar-me, como que a rendilhar a toalha de linho que ainda embeleza a nossa mesa na Páscoa, ou a coser os vestidos de namoro da minha mãe; por entre suspiros e rezas pedia-te histórias que me pintassem um retrato de algo que me faltava, para aliviar as salas mudas na companhia das raposas, agora também a fazer de tapete. Diziam que tinhas a pele mais macia que a seda que vestias, mas os nossos rostos nunca se tocaram, e assim, eu enroscava o meu lenço pelos dedos, enquanto balbuciava as preces que se juntavam ao murmúrio ondulante das gentes.
The Writers’ Guild of Alberta is pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 Alberta Literary Awards. This year’s award winners were announced in an online video release on June 4th. The video is available to watch on our Facebook page and YouTube channel. This celebration marks the 38th anniversary of the Alberta Literary Awards and brought together writers from across Alberta.The Alberta Literary Awards were created by the Writers’ Guild of Alberta in 1982 to recognize excellence in writing by Alberta authors. This year, jurors deliberated over 220 submissions to select winners in the following eight categories.
James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction
paulo da costa (Calgary) – “Learning To Shave, Learning To Leave,” The Fiddlehead
Jury remarks: This poetic essay explores the richness of a father/son relationship in language that is tender, emotionally vibrant, and physically sensual. A lyric antidote to toxic masculinity, this beautifully crafted and fully realized essay results in something much larger than a simple combination of its carefully worded parts. It’s a lovely examination of fatherhood, and what is passed down through generations, and how different generations express love.
Every literary work reflects a lifetime of experience and lots of solitary hours filled with dread and frustration. I hope every author who was shortlisted or is a winner celebrates tonight under that full moon, and knows that the anguish was worth it. As a reader I am so grateful to all of you, and am sending each of you a virtual bottle of champagne. (Rosemary Griebel)
Please also support and read the work of all finalists for these awards. They are all equally worthy of our attention for the quality of their work. My especial congratulations to JENNIFER BOWERING DELISLE and OMAR MOUALLEM who shared the nomination in my category. I was honoured to be in your company. (paulo da costa)
JENNIFER BOWERING DELISLE (she/her) is the author of the lyric family memoir The Bosun Chair (NeWest 2017); and Deriving, a poetry collection forthcoming from the University of Alberta Press. She has a PhD in English, and has also published a scholarly monograph. She joined the board of NeWest Press in 2018, and regularly teaches creative writing at the University of Alberta Faculty of Extension. She lives in Edmonton on Treaty 6 territory with her husband and two young children. Find her at www.jenniferdelisle.ca or @JenBDelisle.
OMAR MOUALLEM is a journalist, author, screenwriter, and filmmaker who has worked for The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, CBC and WIRED. He’s edited numerous magazines, guest-hosted the CANADALAND podcast, and co-created a documentary about oil-sector suicides. Omar co-authored a national bestseller about the Fort McMurray wildfires, and his forthcoming book, a travel memoir about Muslims in the Americas, will be published by Simon & Schuster Canada in 2021. He also founded Pandemic University Pop-up School of Writing in support of writers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.WGA CNF Award HR
Introduction 6 Sue Sinclair: Winter 2020 Editorial
Creative Nonfiction 48 Sherry Coffey: Hiking the Fundy Footpath 71 paulo da costa: Learning to Shave, Learning to Leave
Fiction 7 Emily Bossé: The Most Beautiful Woman in New Brunswick Coming to a Field Near You 26 Shaelin Bishop: Barefoot 64 Diane Carley: Dead Reckoning 84 Shashi Bhat: Facsimile 100 Carmelinda Scian: The Disappeared
Poetry 20 Dani Couture: Two Poems 23 Marika Prokosh: Two Poems 39 Curtis LeBlanc: Two Poems 44 Katie Jordan: Return of the Monarchs 46 Allison LaSorda: Swarm 47 Jake Kennedy: Northrop Frye, Listening to Bette Middler’s “From a Distance,”
Offers Some Remarks on The Tempest (January 23, 1991) 57 John Kinsella: Two Poems 60 Kevin Spenst: Two Poems 62 Jennifer LoveGrove: Two Poems 79 Elena Johnson: Casa Museo Manuel de Falla 80 John Steffler: Three Poems 95 Daniel Scott Tysdal: Eurydicinema 96 Sophie Crocker: self-portrait in gemini 98 Paul Vermeersch: Two Poems 107 Ojo Taiye: Three Poems 110 D.A. Lockhart: Three Poems
Reviews 114 Brian Bartlett, Getting on with Becoming More of Itself Out All Day, John Donlan Yellow Crane, Susan Gillis 117 Susan Haley, Legacy of war and underbelly of art Butterfly, John Delacourt 120 Katia Grubisic, Unfettering Zolitude, Paige Cooper 122 Emily Skov-Nielsen, “In conflict & homesick” I left nothing inside on purpose, Stevie Howell
Contributors 125 Notes on Contributors
Cover Joanne Hunt Red Skies at Night
Oil on canvas
20 x 40 in.
